Glossodia major

Common Name: Waxlip Orchid

Waxlip Orchid

Description: Very slender terrestrial herb. Leaf oblong or lanceolate, 4–15 cm long, hairy, drying with a vanilla-like perfume. Flowers 1 or 2, rarely 3, , variable in size, but up to 6 c. in diam. Sepals and petals 15–30 mm long, lanceolate, pale underneath. Labellum ovate-lanceolate, contracted at the base, 8–11 mm long, straight; basal portion white and pubescent, dilated laterally into 2 bosses with a furrow between; anterior portion purple, glabrous; basal callus solitary, purple, with 2-lobed yellow head. Column incurved above; anther acute.

Flower colour: Purple or occasionally pure white

Flowering Time: August to October
Grows where: Widespread and common in sclerophyll forest, woodland and coastal heath

Height: 12 to 32 cm

Link to PlantNET New South Wales Flora Online: Waxlip Orchid